I'm sure you all remember the hit song from the early 80's by the Fixx titled, "One Thing Leads To Another." That title perfectly describes how something great can happen in your life just by taking one idea or step and letting it lead you to something greater. Don't believe me? I'll prove it to you!
Last Spring 2011, I bought a Flip video camera at CostCo with the sole intention to be able to record precious moments that were quickly slipping by of my 6 year old daughter. Ya know, those heartwarming school singing performances where the kid standing behind your child has their entire fist lodged up their nose while your kid is arguing with their neighbor on where to stand. All of this just so happens to occur when you're camera is at maximum zoom. Because I am severely gadget and gizmo impaired, I was certain the Flip was perfect for the techno challenged Mom who just wants to keep things simple.
About a week later my Toastmasters club (which is a leadership and public speaking organization, not to be confused with a 4 slot pop up Toastmaster toaster oven) was in need of a better way to explain rules, regulations, expectations, and helpful tips for new members. Clearly, lengthy emails were not working and one-on-one conversations were time consuming. I volunteered to make a video using my new handy flip video and some of the skills that I learned from Toastmasters. I promised that I would do my best and make it creative and entertaining in order to keep the viewer awake.
The video was a hit and one training video led to another. The members at Toastmasters were not only understanding the necessary information, they were remembering it as well. Why? Because I added some humor, came up with a fun theme, and kept it short so they could learn while having fun.
The light bulb went on when I made a video for our club a couple months later titled, "How to correctly pronounce members' names." This was the first video that I used a character other than myself. I wanted to be tough and use my "Little General" persona I had so proudly earned when I was in my early 20's working as a food expediter at a restaurant. I knew if I looked and acted like Jenny and delivered the message in a stern and harsh way, I would come across as being a mean bi***. So, I portrayed myself as a variety of different cops on the swat team to make it an amusing satire. I bought a fake police hat at the party store, stole my husbands blue polo, wore a phony badge, and used the extension suction hose from my Hoover vacuum as my billy stick! Sad to say, I never had used that part of the vacuum until the video! Did I mention, I'm also cleaning impaired and have a strong aversion to physical labor when it comes to sucking up dog hair! Back to the video, it was so much fun to create and share with others.
So I guess you could say, one thing led to another. I had no intention of creating a video business when I flashed my CostCo membership card back in March of 2011. Heck, I was more focused on beating the lady in front of me to get the free cheesecake sample. And when I made the first training video for Toastmasters I thought I was just doing my part to help out a 501c3 club. And when I bought that fake cops hat at the party store I thought, if nothing else, I can use it for a Halloween costume next year.
All of those "things" led to something really great... the birth of Creative Message Media video business! What about you? What small steps are you taking that could lead to something so much greater than your initial intention? We all have them, you go to the grocery store for a taco seasoning packet and you end up meeting the love of your life on aisle 7! You volunteer in your child's classroom and that night, your brain comes up with a brilliant idea for a computer software game on learning math facts! You take up running to lose a few lbs. and while you're at it, you find your dream home just off the greenbelt! And in my case, you muster up enough motivation to vacuum up fur balls and realize the extension hose makes for a great weapon!
You just never know! One thing I do know...One thing can lead to another!!
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